


So Far to Go

by kaci3PO



Category: Glee
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-03
Updated: 2011-07-03
Packaged: 2017-10-20 23:34:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/218313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaci3PO/pseuds/kaci3PO
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurt Hummel is just a boy taking the person he loves to his prom. Rachel's dads don't have the luxury of thinking it's that simple.</p>
            </blockquote>





	So Far to Go

Kurt Hummel will forever be grateful to his father and stepmother. A few months before prom, when he tried to buy two tickets and was refused, they stormed the school like only fiercely protective parents can, yelling at Principal Figgins so loudly that they actually attracted a crowd. As placating as Figgins tried to be, they didn't calm down until Coach Sylvester entered the fray. As far as Kurt can tell, they still respect her for trying to expel Karofsky and for resigning in protest when she couldn't. Eventually, Kurt was allowed to buy his tickets and Coach Sylvester volunteered to chaperone the dance to ensure that no one bothered him and his date. Kurt's still kind of in awe over that.

So he had the tickets and a promise that she would ensure he was left alone to enjoy his evening. Which meant that all that was really missing was the date, and though it took him days to work up the nerve to ask, Blaine ended up just laughing when he did, and saying, "That's a rhetorical question, right?" And then there'd been a lot of kissing and general sweatiness and Kurt was pretty damn happy about the situation.

That is, until he found out that they would be doubling with Finn and Rachel.

Which, well, he's gotten a lot more used to Rachel since the wedding, if only because she was at their house a lot to see Finn. Seeing her so many hours of the day meant he either had to get used to her or be miserable, and she really wasn't that bad, once he got to know her. She was sort of nice, in a self-centered way, and she was, if anything, overly supportive of him having a boyfriend and being allowed to behave like any other teenager with a significant other in the McKinley High halls. Sometimes, he forgets that she has two gay dads and grew up with his rights close to her heart long before they ever met.

But still, he'd kind of envisioned making out with Blaine in the back of a limo or spending the whole ride in Blaine's lap. And having his brother there was kind of a giant cockblock, so there went his plans.

And they're even delayed on getting to the dance because while Blaine met them at the Hummel-Hudson house since it'd have been impractical to drive out to get him and then all the way back to Lima, Finn and Rachel had both insisted that he would pick her up at her house, "like a proper gentleman." Kurt thought it was kind of old-fashioned, but Blaine said it was sweet. Stupid Blaine and his being stuck in the fifties.

So they let Burt and Carol have their fill of snapping photos of Kurt and Finn, and of Kurt and Blaine, and, weirdly, of Finn and Blaine.

("You might be brother-in-laws some day!" Carol says, while Burt mutters that he is _really not ready to have that conversation_ and Kurt blushes while murmuring his agreement because yeah, he's really not ready for that, either.)

Then they promise to give Carol's e-mail address to Rachel's dads so they can forward her the photos they take of Finn and Rachel, and they finally manage to escape their parents' clutches.

Except then, it's a ten-minute limo ride to Rachel's and Finn keeps turning the corsage over in his hands and holding it up as if to pin it on an invisible woman.

"What are you doing?" Kurt asks, when he can't take the display anymore.

"Practicing," Finn answers, "it's not like I've spent a lot of time doing this before. I don't want to like, pop her boob or something."

Kurt rubs at his temples. "Pop her boob?" he asks, even though it's masochistic to do so, because really, how can he not?

"Yeah. With the pin. I don't want to like, be pinning it on her and then—" he makes an awkward popping sound.

"You think that if you accidentally stick her with the pin, her chest will explode like a balloon?" Kurt asks, because _really_ , he needs to be absolutely clear on this point.

"Maybe," Finn answers. "It happened once with Quinn."

"She was probably wearing one of those…er, enhancement bras," Blaine puts in. "You know, the kind with things in them to make girls' chests look bigger?"

Finn frowns thoughtfully, then says, "That…actually makes a lot more sense. I knew there was something weird about that. I still don't want to stick her, though."

And like that, he goes back to practicing, and Kurt and Blaine are left to entertain themselves.

"So," Blaine says, and takes Kurt's hand in his absently. "About what your step-mom said."

Because Blaine, damn him, is not the kind of person who ignores the elephant in the room. He pokes it with a giant stick.

"She's crazy," Kurt says. "Hasn't been taking her medication."

"Hey!" Finn huffs, but he doesn't seem too offended, since he's concentrating on pinning the corsage through his shirtsleeve. Kurt considers making him stop so that he doesn't ruin the fabric, but he's long since given up on trying to make Finn care about such things and at any rate, there are much more pressing matters at hand.

"I just wanted you to know that it didn't freak me out," Blaine continues. "That's all. Because you seem freaked and it's really not that big of a deal. It was a silly, off-hand, mom comment. They make them all the time."

"Right," Kurt says, unsure. "Is there a reason you're not freaked out?"

"I just told you. It's a mom comment. It doesn't mean anything. And even if it did, there are worse fates than being married to you."

Kurt hyperventilates. "I—what? You—"

Blaine laughs. "Will you calm down? I'm not proposing. We've only been going out for a few months. I'm just saying that it's not like she's picking out our china patterns or anything, and even if she were, well…I could do worse."

The limo pulls to a stop and Finn takes a deep breath before pushing open the door. He leaves it open for Kurt and Blaine to follow, since they promised their parents they'd get at least one picture with all four of them, but he heads on up the steps to Rachel's front door without waiting for them. He knocks, and Kurt ignores the way he's muttering, "You look great. No, beautiful. You look beautiful. That's not right. Amazing?" under his breath.

"I'm seventeen," Kurt informs Blaine, who gives him a confused look.

"My favorite vegetable is squash," Blaine says, and when Kurt gives him an equally confused look in return, Blaine clarifies, "Aren't we playing the non-sequitur game?"

"No," Kurt huffs. "I am seventeen and I don't know if I ever want to get married, and if I do, I don't want to do it now."

"Okay," Blaine says, then his voice softens. "Kurt, this isn't a big deal. Come on, she made an off-handed comment. Neither of us has proposed, or even wants to get married right now, and we've only known each other for a few months. This should not be an issue. When a mom says something like that, you roll your eyes and laugh it off. Why are you so upset?"

The door opens and Rachel's fathers stand side-by-side, looking so intimidating that they remind Kurt of the first few times his father met Blaine, before Burt got to know him and decided he was an all right guy.

"Hi," Finn says. "Mister Berry…s. Berries. Misters Berry?" He frowns. "Hi, Rachel's dads."

A long silence passes and Kurt tries very hard not to face plant in his palm. Then the taller man cracks a smile and says, "She's just upstairs, getting ready." He glances down at Finn's hands and says, "Lovely. That'll go perfect with her dress. Come in."

He and his partner step aside to let Finn pass, and then at once, almost comically, their eyes land on Kurt and Blaine.

"Hello," they both say. "Who are you?"

"I'm Finn's brother," Kurt answers. "Kurt. And this is Blaine."

After a moment, the man who hasn't spoken yet nods in recognition. "Kurt Hummel, right? Rachel has talked about you before. I don't think she quite knows what to do with you, to be honest. She likes you, and she's come home really upset a few times because of something that happened to you at school."

Kurt blinks. "Really?"

"Yeah. She's asked us for advice about what she could do to make you feel better. Less lonely. And she tried to see if we could get the ACLU to sue the school for not keeping you safe from a homophobic bully."

"I…wow. She was—she was really that upset?" He almost can't believe it; sure, Rachel was nice to him that day with the duet, and he heard that it was her idea to have the boys stand up to Karofsky, but the idea that she cared enough to actually be upset on his behalf? That's new.

"Yes," the man says, "but she doesn't really like how much competition you present for solos." He smiles. "We think it's good for her, but don't tell her we said that." He pushes his glasses up on his nose, and holds out his hand. "I'm Ryan. This is Marc."

Kurt shakes each of their hands, and Blaine does the same. The four of them stand there, staring at each other, and then Rachel's dads step aside to allow the two of them inside.

By the time they make it to the living room, Finn has retrieved Rachel and is mid-way through pinning on her corsage. Marc makes a "bup-bup-bup!" stopping noise and grabs the camera, snapping photos as Finn finishes.

"You never answered my question," Blaine says after a moment. "Why is this upsetting you?"

"I—because—we're too young to be thinking about things like that."

"Right, but again, no one is proposing here, Kurt. So what—" And then Blaine stops, and stares, and sees right through him the way he always has since that day on the stairs at Dalton Academy.

"You think about it," Blaine says quietly. "You—you think about that kind of thing."

Kurt stares down at the ground. "Not—not seriously. Just…you know, I mean, we love each other, and—and I've got no plans to break up with you any time soon, so…so I mean, yeah, sometimes I think about the future, and how you're in it, and I make plans, and—but we're _too young_."

"So we don't go for it just yet," Blaine says. His eyes drift over to Rachel's dads, and then he whispers, "I think about it, too. Sometimes. I think all teenagers do. I mean, I bet Finn's thought about it. And Rachel's probably already got a cake decorator on retainer."

Kurt laughs, because yeah, okay, fair point.

"It doesn't look so bad," Blaine observes. "Being married. They seem pretty happy."

Kurt watches Rachel's dads beam at her while she prances around Finn, striking poses while they snap photos. He sees the love in their eyes when they look at her, the pride and happiness when they look at each other. And he squeezes Blaine's hand tightly.

"No," he says finally. "It doesn't. But not—not for a really long time. Like…after college at the very least. If we're even still together then."

"Oh, I really don't see letting you go any time soon," Blaine says casually. But then, more seriously, he adds, "Really, Kurt…no pressure, all right? It's not like we're giving each other promise rings here. This is just…something teenagers who love each other think about. It's not binding. It's…a fantasy that might one day come true, but if it doesn't, then no harm, no foul. All right?"

Kurt nods, and relaxes a little. "Yeah. Sorry. Just…I didn't know you thought about it, too."

"Well, now you do," Blaine says cheerfully, and tugs him over to where Rachel's dads are beckoning for them to join in on the photo shoot.

Fifteen minutes later, they have finally exhausted the camera's batteries and storage capacity, and Rachel leads the way out of the house towards the limo. Finn follows her, and Blaine right behind him, leaving Kurt in the rear with Rachel's dads.

Just as he's about to step out of the house, Marc catches his arm and says, "Kurt, hang on a minute."

Kurt stops, and turns to look at them expectantly, assuming they want to make sure they've got Carol's address correctly, but Marc isn't holding his phone or a piece of paper to write it down, he's just holding his partner's hand.

"Kurt," Ryan says, and inexplicably, he sounds choked up. Kurt might've expected that when Rachel left, because of the whole, "our baby's growing up" thing that parents tend to do, but he has no idea why it might apply to him just now.

He looks at them expectantly, and Ryan grips Kurt's hand with his free one fiercely.

"You have a hell of a time at that prom," he tells him. "You dance, okay? You—you grab that boy and you hold on and don't you let anyone say a word edgewise."

"I—I was planning to," Kurt says, shocked. "What—what's—"

And then it hits him. Rachel's dads grew up in the seventies, when being out was unthinkable, much less actually taking your boyfriend to prom. He had to fight for his right to—well, okay, his parents did, but Kurt would have if they hadn't beaten him rather effectively to the punch—but he still gets to go.

He has that option, and he gets to take it. They didn't.

And for the first time in his life, Kurt realizes that he is part of something larger than himself, that he is continuing a tradition and giving hope to those who've fought to get him this far.

He swallows. They're staring at him with fierce pride in their eyes, and he's not sure what he ever did to deserve it. He's just a boy taking the person he loves to his prom.

"I will," he says, when he trusts himself to speak. "I'll—" He almost says, _I'll dance for you,_ but it sounds terrible even in his head and he's not entirely sure what his place is in this world he just stepped into, or if that's even true.

"I will," he repeats, because there's nothing else to say, and they nod, nudging him out the door to where Blaine stands, looking expectant.

Kurt turns, takes the last few steps towards his boyfriend, and kisses him full on the mouth right there on the lawn, where anyone could see. Because he can, because Marc and Ryan didn't get to, because he is a teenager and that's what teenagers do.

Then he slides into the limo and goes to his prom.


End file.
